Letter to Augusta: Keep Colt in 2008 tournament

As speculators speculate that Colt Knost will make a formal announcement of his professional aspirations this week, I am hoping for two things. The first is that he shows up at Turning Stone for the Turning Stone Championship, as my sorry behind will be there with media credentials. The second is that Augusta National grant him his place in the 2008 Masters, in spite of being a professional.

Let’s be honest. The spirit of the amateur at The Masters ended when Walker Cup positions for USA and GBI were rescinded. Heck, there was a time when even the alternates received invitations. Even members of the World Amateur Team from the USA lost their positions. Now, in a perfect year, only five amateurs make it in: champions of the USGA Mid-Am, PubLinks and Am championships, the British Amateur, and the runner-up to the USGA Am champ. Sure, the Masters intelligentsia will argue that anyone in the top 24 from the previous year will also be back, but the odds of that are one in a Kuchar, or one in a Wittenberg.

So, if anyone with a liberal thought, among the members of The National, is listening, hear my plea: consider giving young players the exemption they earn as amateurs, whether they remain amateurs or not; or, if amateur presence at the invitational is important, consider returning invitations to Walker Cup teams and the USA World Amateur team. I’m in favor of the amateur presence, but I hate to see a guy like Colt lose what he has earned over a decision he has to make.